Page 85 of The Library

“You should hate me, Lilith,” he says. It’s almost a dare, a final invitation to walk away. To escape him and everything we are.

I hold his gaze, my heart pounding in my chest as I think about everything we’ve been through, the darkness we’ve shared, the fire that burns between us. I know he expects me to take that chance, but I can’t. I smile softly, my lips curving into a smirk as I whisper, “But I’m madly in love with you.”

His eyes widen slightly, and I can see how my words hit him. The weight of my love, of my choice to stay. It’s everything he never expected, but everything he needs.

But then Sebastian shifts his body slightly, still at the edge of the bed, his eyes dark and intense as he reaches into the pocket of his sweatpants. I can see it in his eyes-the hunger, the need. His hands ache to touch me; I can feel it in the way the air between us tightens, like he’s ready to devour me all over again. I stand there, frozen, watching him like I’m still trying to figure out if he’s the monster I think he is, or something far worse.

Maybe he is. But what he doesn’t realize is that I’ve already become that darkness in him, the thing holding him together in this hell we both can’t escape.

“Lilith,” he begins, his voice low, but I can hear the weight of everything he’s about to say. And I know it’s going to tear me apart, piece by piece, just like he always does. “I’ve killed for you. You know that. I’d do it again-without hesitation. I’d tear apart anyone who even thinks about taking you away from me. There’s no line I wouldn’t cross, no blood I wouldn’t spill, if it means you stay by my side.”

I open my mouth to speak, but he won’t let me. Not yet. His hands shoot forward, grabbing my wrists, pulling me into him until I can feel the wild rhythm of his heart pounding against mine. His grip is hard, possessive.

“You don’t get it, do you?” His voice vibrates through me, dark and filled with something raw, something dangerous.

“You’re not just something I want, Lilith. You’re the air I breathe, the fucking reason my heart still beats. Without you, my life isn’t worth living. I’d rather burn everything to the ground, including myself, than live in a world where you’re not mine.”

His words hit me like a storm. I see it-the rage, the possessiveness burning behind his eyes. He can’t stop it, and he doesn’t want to. And god help me, I don’t want him to, either.

“You are mine, Lilith. You always will be.” His grip tightens, and there’s a wildness in his touch. “I’d chain you to me if I had to. Hell, I’ll chain you to this goddamn house if that’s whatit takes to make you stay. I don’t care what anyone thinks. You belong to me.”

I should be afraid, and maybe a part of me is, but there’s something else-a deeper, darker pull that surges inside me, answering to his need. My breath catches in my throat, and he sees it. He sees everything.

“You complete me,” he whispers, his voice rough, shaking with something I can’t name. “Without you, I’m just a hollow shell, a man consumed by the shadows inside me. But with you… with you, Lilith, I can feel again. You make the darkness bearable.”

His hand cups my face, forcing me to meet his gaze, and I see the truth of it all— the desperation, the madness, the need. “Marry me,” he breathes, but it’s not a question. It’s a demand. A command. “Bind yourself to me, in every way that counts. I don’t want anyone else. I’ll never want anyone else. It’s you, or it’s nothing. I can’t live in a world where you’re not mine. So be mine, Lilith. Forever.”

And in that moment, with his words wrapping around me like chains, I realize something I’m not ready to admit- I’m already his. I’ve always been.

My heart skips a beat as he pulls out a ring—a beautiful ring with a fucking huge red stone in the center.

I stare at the ring, my mind spinning. This isn’t how I imagined a proposal. But with Sebastian, nothing is ever as expected.

I meet his gaze, my heart racing. “You’re serious?”

He nods, his eyes burning with a possessive fire. “You’re mine, Lilith. I’ve already branded my name onto your skin. I’ve fucked every hole you have. I know what I want. I want you. Forever. Until death rips me away from you.”

A thrill runs through me, but it’s tinged with fear. Fear of what this means. Fear of the world he’s pulling me into.

But as I look at him, at the man who’s claimed every part of me—my body, my heart, my soul—I know I can’t say no.

“Yes,” I whisper.

Sebastian

As I sit there, holding the ring in my hand, my mind races through everything that’s led us here. Every drop of blood, every life I’ve taken, every dark corner I’ve navigated in this world—it all pales in comparison to what I feel for her. Lilith isn’t like anyone else. She’s everything. The thought of losing her, of her being taken from me, gnaws at my very soul, the soul I didn’t know I had until her. And after that last job… well, things shifted. My entire perspective on timing changed. My perspective on everything changed.

I already knew I wanted her forever, but the moment that bullet ripped through my shoulder, something snapped inside me. The thought that I might not come back to her, that she could be left in this world without me, filled me with a fear I never thought I was capable of feeling. That fear didn’t cripple me; it drove me. It fueled every step I took after that.

After Valen stitched me up, his hands moving with the precision only a man used to the darker side of medicine can possess, I knew what needed to be done. Valen’s a ghost, a shadow. He’s the man who patches up those of us who live on the edge of life and death, not just for the Society but for anyone willing to pay enough. He doesn’t ask questions, doesn’t flinch at the blood or the violence, but he knows better than to get involved beyond his needle and thread. I trust him with my life, but not with hers. He was able to close up the wound, but thedecision to solidify my bond with Lilith—that was something no doctor or patchwork could fix.

As soon as Ty and I left Valen’s dark little lair, we went straight to the jeweler I’d scouted out weeks ago. The guy looked terrified when we walked in, both of us still covered in blood, but he didn’t dare say a word. I tossed a small vial of my blood on the counter, the glass clinking against the wood, and gave him his instructions on exactly what I wanted.

“I want this made into a stone. And I want it done by tomorrow,” I said, my voice steady, controlled, and cold as ice. I could see his hands trembling, but he nodded, taking the vial like it was a fucking holy relic.

In this world, blood is everything. Words are meaningless without action, and an oath means nothing unless it’s sealed in blood. The Society functions on those principles, and Lilith needed to understand that being with me wasn’t about rings or vows whispered in candlelight. It was about something far more permanent, more dangerous.

The jeweler worked through the night. Ty and I waited in the shadows, keeping our eyes on the streets, making sure no one came looking for us after the job we had just finished. I could still feel the sting of the bullet wound, but it was nothing compared to the fire burning inside me. I wanted Lilith. Needed her.

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